Potemkin City Limits – Propagandhi
Supporting Caste – Propagandhi
So I included an old Propagandhi song in the post I just did, and it occurred to me I might as well take the opportunity to write about the new Propagandhi album Supporting Caste.
First some background. A few years ago I called the new Lawrence Arms record “the best punk record since London Calling.” I was wrong. Not that I don’t think Oh! Calcutta is anything but amazing, but I forgot about the debut album from Propagandhi. How to Clean Everything was a revelation to a kid in high school in the mid 90s. It was everything you couldn’t get in other music. Funny, angry, smart, unafraid to be naive, but also steeped in a barely restrained bitterness and biting cynicism. Compared to that, everything since couldn’t help but be a let-down.
It took me several years to really start to appreciate their follow-up Less Talk, More Rock, although in time I discovered a stunning album buried amidst overblown song titles and some less-than-impressive hooks.
After that, however, I mostly gave up on them. John K Samson left the band, and I think it made a pretty big deal. You know how Paul McCartney’s solo career consists of a decent number of perfectly fine tracks often buried amidst albums that are stuffed to the gills with pappy love songs? Imagine that process in reverse. The post Samson-Propagandhi has gone decidedly heavier, often veering almost into metal territory. The clever word-play, the air of goofiness, and sweet and tender hooks…all gone. And without those things to provide balance, the dynamic was lost.
It’s not for me to say if the objective quality of their work declined. But it no longer appealed to me.
Which brings us to the present…and further questions on my part. I also can’t really tell if Supporting Caste signals a change in the trend or not. Rather, I like Supporting Caste quite a bit more than its predecessors, but I’m not sure if A) it’s a one-off situation, a curious coincidence, B) they haven’t changed the sound, but I’m now at a place where it’s starting to appeal to me, or C) they have changed, but in ways that I’ve processed subliminally but can’t quite put into words yet.
Whatever it is, I definitely enjoy this album – if not every piece of it. For one thing, in terms of sheer musical talent it’s miles away from their beginnings. For all that the debut was a masterpiece, no one would ever accuse them of exceptional musicianship. These days, the arrangements are actually pretty tight, the drumming is explosive, and the little cascades of guitar riffs are right on the spot.
Some of tracks get a little bit beyond me, but there are a number of excellent songs here. “Potemkin City Limits,” “Supporting Caste,” “Tertium Non Datur,” and “The Bangers Embrace” all get me excited in a way I haven’t been about this band in over a decade. It’s a nice feeling.